


Sawamura Unicorn Ranch

by aosav



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, M/M, Supernatural Creatures, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 10:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9887123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aosav/pseuds/aosav
Summary: Urban witch Suga has a troublesome apprentice (and a crush on the local unicorn rancher).





	

**Author's Note:**

> For HarmoniousDestruction’s Haikyuu!! Week on Tumblr.  
> Day One: Suga-centric. Prompts: superpowers, supernatural, urban witch au.

Because supernatural creatures don’t currently fall under veterinary purview by law, most veterinarians are not educated in the care of supernatural creatures or equipped to carry out that care. This means that when a phoenix or nguruvilu or griffin gets sick or injured then, instead of calling someone who actually wanted to spend their life tending to ill-tempered beasts, they call someone like Suga. Usually, they don’t call Suga specifically. Suga has deliberately constructed his reputation to draw in clients who are looking for help with small- to medium-scale banishings, hex bags, and, occasionally, a bit of potion work. Suga likes animals, but he doesn’t like to see them in pain … or to deal with them when they are in pain. He usually passes along requests like this one to one of his colleagues without a second thought. This request in particular, though –

Well.

Suga isn’t normally a fan of making house calls, but, in this case, he’s actually excited.

“Do you have the bag?” Suga asks. He checks his reflection in the mirror again. He isn’t ordinarily one to be fussy about his appearance, but, well.

“Yes,” Kageyama says. He sounds surly. He’s still upset that Suga told him off about using his telekinesis … again. If Kageyama keeps relying on his telekinesis in place of using proper spells, though, he will never improve.

“Good,” Suga says. He turns away from the mirror and heads for the door. “Let’s go, then.”

Kageyama follows behind him, looking as surly as he sounded. He is carrying Suga's medical bag over his shoulder. He closes and locks the door behind them with telekinesis.

Suga stops and frowns at Kageyama. “Kageyama,” he says, disapprovingly.

“It’s just a door,” Kageyama says. “I wouldn’t have used a spell for that, anyway.”

“If you use your telekinesis for everything, you won’t ever develop proficiency in spellwork,” Suga tells him, not for the first time. “You need to practice not using it.”

“I don’t use it all the time,” Kageyama says, looking away. He shifts awkwardly.

Suga watches him. Kageyama is a good apprentice in most ways: he is diligent, hardworking, and extremely attentive to Suga's instructions; he also has an aptitude for magic that Suga has rarely ever seen, which is why Suga took him on in the first place. He likes Kageyama and he likes having Kageyama as his apprentice. The problem, though, is that Kageyama also has telekinesis and Suga has, as of yet, utterly failed to make Kageyama see the value in learning spells that will allow him to do the things that he can already do with his telekinesis. Suga is trying to lay the groundwork in Kageyama's education, and Kageyama just refuses to cooperate.

Kageyama shifts again, still not meeting Suga's eyes.

Things have been just a bit strained recently. Every mentor and apprentice relationship has its rough patches, though. Suga is committed to getting through it. Kageyama will cave eventually, and then Suga can move his education along. It will just take some time.

Speaking of – Suga glances at his watch. If they don’t hurry, they’ll be late.

Suga sighs. “Come on,” he says. He slaps Kageyama on the shoulder. Kageyama looks up and Suga nods at him, smiling encouragingly. “We don’t want to keep Daichi waiting,” Suga says.

Kageyama nods back. His shoulders relax a little at Suga's reassurance.

Suga has Kageyama drive them, and he makes sure that Kageyama uses the proper spellwork to start the engine and the rest of the car’s systems instead of just levitating them there. Kageyama doesn’t even complain. It’s a good step, and Suga will take every tiny victory he can.

When they arrive at Sawamura Unicorn Ranch, Suga checks his reflection one more time in the car window after they get out. Kageyama watches him with a bland expression.

“Don’t judge me,” Suga says.

Kageyama says nothing.

Suga brushes his hair back from his face with light flicks of his fingers. Then he brushes it back across his forehead. Then he brushes it back again.

Then Daichi comes out of the barn.

“Suga!” Daichi calls. He is grinning. His smile is stunning. If the sun ever goes out, they can just have Daichi smile at all of the flowers and solar panels – same difference, really.

“Daichi!” Suga calls back. He waves.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” Daichi says as he approaches them. “Poor Guinevere just – I just don’t know what’s wrong.” He stops in front of Suga, still grinning. Suga grins back.

Daichi's dark hair is practically gleaming in the sunlight and his dirty black t-shirt is stretched across his chest and shoulders in a way that should be illegal. He looks stunning. And a bit filthy, like he’s been working in the barn and the fields all day. It’s a good look on him.

Suga knows he’s staring and he doesn’t even care.

Daichi is totally staring back, anyway. And he’s still smiling that ridiculous make-flowers-grow smile.

“Is the unicorn in the barn?” Kageyama asks.

Daichi blinks and turns to look at Kageyama. “Oh,” he says, as if he only just noticed that Kageyama is standing beside Suga. Suga can relate. “Hello, Kageyama,” Daichi says politely. “Good to see you again.”

“Hello, Daichi,” Kageyama says back. “Is the unicorn in the barn?”

“Yes, she is,” Daichi says, nodding. He turns, gesturing towards the barn over his shoulder. “Are you ready to see her now?”

“Absolutely,” Suga says, drawing the word out a little. Daichi's ears go just a bit pink. Suga smirks. “Lead the way, Daichi,” he says, gesturing towards the barn as well.

Daichi does lead the way, with Kageyama walking quickly beside him. Suga lingers behind just a bit. There isn’t a single angle of Daichi that isn’t exceedingly pleasant.

“She was really antsy when I went out this morning to put them out to pasture,” Daichi says, turning a bit as he walks so he can address Kageyama and Suga both.

Suga snaps his eyes up to Daichi's face and nods attentively.

“When was that?” Kageyama asks.

“Just before dawn,” Daichi says. “I checked her over, but I couldn’t find anything wrong. She spooked the other night during the storm but I don’t think she injured herself.” He opens the barn door and steps aside to let Kageyama and Suga through.

The windows set high in the walls of the barn are shuttered and the inside of the barn is lit by gas lamps that hang above the hallway between the two sets of stalls. The whole place smells like hay and lilac.

“In here,” Daichi says, leading the way to one of the stalls about halfway down on the left. He does not open the stall door yet. Instead, he turns to face Suga, his expression a bit apologetic. Kageyama slips past him to peer into the stall. “She isn’t at her best,” Daichi says ruefully.

“How worked up is she?” Suga asks. Unicorns are highly strung. They’re like horses but bigger and meaner and with spikes on their heads.

“Very,” Daichi says. “I’ll go in first and try to calm her, then –”

“Kageyama, stop!” Suga shouts, lurching forward to grab at Kageyama as he opens the stall door and steps inside. He doesn’t quite make it – Kageyama is fast – and Daichi seems too surprised to stop him.

Kageyama moves into the stall as if he didn’t even hear Suga, the little shit, and holds out his hand to Guinevere.

Guinevere snorts and stomps her foot, tossing her head back in an aggression display to show off her curved horn, thick and sharp, between her pricked ears.

“Just step back, Kageyama,” Daichi says, very quietly. He extends his hand towards Guinevere as well, mimicking Kageyama, as he opens the stall door behind Kageyama.

Kageyama ignores him and takes another steps towards the unicorn.

Guinevere tosses her head again, and then – she lowers it. She dips her head down to sniff at Kageyama's extended hand and open palm. Kageyama holds still while Guinevere sniffs him.

Suga holds still as well, holding his breath. If Guinevere decides that Kageyama is a threat, she can kill him in a second. Suga calls up a spell, keeping his eyes on the unicorn, preparing to pull Kageyama towards him – _through_ the stall door, if necessary.

“Keep your movements slow,” Daichi says, still speaking in a soft murmur. He edges the stall door open a bit further.

Guinevere brings her head up again and dances back a step. She makes a sound like thunder that comes off as distinctly displeased to Suga.

Suga raises his hand, moving slowly like Daichi said to, preparing to pull Kageyama out of there.

Kageyama follows Guinevere, stepping after her, reaching his hand around to her neck and touching her gently there.

“Kageyama,” Daichi hisses.

Kageyama takes another step closer to Guinevere, blatantly ignoring Daichi, and lifts his other hand to run both open palms across Guinevere’s glossy brown coat. Guinevere makes another terrifying sound that rumbles through the whole barn, and Kageyama reacts by moving in closer.

He is going to die. Suga is going to have to find a new apprentice. All of the work he has put into bringing Kageyama out of his shell and getting him to use magic properly is going to waste, right here and now, because Kageyama is going to be murdered by a unicorn.

“Oh,” Daichi says.

Suga flicks his gaze from Kageyama and the murder horse to Daichi. Daichi looks surprised – and less worried than he did a moment ago. Suga looks back at Kageyama and Guinevere. Guinevere has lowered her head again and is shuddering under Kageyama's hands as he brushes his palms along her sides. Kageyama is humming softly, his entire focus on Guinevere.

“That’s good,” Daichi says, quietly. “Nice and slow.”

“I think it’s her back right leg,” Kageyama says, running his hands along Guinevere’s sides as he makes his way around the unicorn to her right back leg. He coaxes Guinevere to lift her leg and she does it, letting out a snuffling noise and shifting her weight to compensate.

Daichi edges the stall door the rest of the way open and steps into the stall with Kageyama and the murder horse. “You think so?” he asks. “I don’t know when she would have injured it.”

Suga steps up to the open door but waits for Daichi to give him the all-clear to go in. He has worked around unicorns enough to know to let the trained handlers call the shots – unlike his idiot apprentice. Suga really should have known better, though; this is Kageyama's first time interacting with a unicorn, and Kageyama isn’t the best at following other people’s leads without clear instructions to do so.

Kageyama is examining the unicorn’s leg. Daichi steps around Guinevere, stroking her face and neck as he moves around her, and stops beside Kageyama.

“Should I join you, or?” Suga asks. Guinevere seems calmer now than she was a moment ago – having Daichi in the stall with her seems to have helped – but still. Better safe than impaled by a unicorn.

“Sure, just move slowly,” Daichi says. He lays his hand on Guinevere’s neck to calm her and then nods at Suga.

Suga lets the spell he was readying die and steps into the stall. He keeps his eyes on the unicorn. Guinevere doesn’t react at all to his presence.

“See?” Kageyama says. “It’s low, so the bedding was probably irritating it when she had it down.”

Suga looks around Daichi to see what Kageyama is talking about. Low on Guinevere’s leg, right above her massive hoof, is some kind of puncture.

“Probably a snake bite,” Suga says.

“Will she die?” Kageyama asks. He sounds worried. He is still holding Guinevere’s leg, keeping her from putting it back down and irritating the injury again.

“No,” Suga says. “This is why Daichi called a witch.”

Daichi flashes a smile at him. Suga blinks. Wow. That is bright.

“What do we do?” Kageyama asks, still focused on the unicorn.

Suga clears his throat and looks away from Daichi. “Do you have the bag?” he asks Kageyama. Kageyama nods and shifts the bag off of his shoulder, letting it slide down to his hand and catching it. Suga edges around Daichi to join Kageyama by Guinevere’s back right leg. Daichi leans towards Guinevere to give Suga room, but there isn’t really anywhere for him to go. When he moves past Daichi, Suga braces his hand on Daichi's lower back. For balance. In this tight space.

Daichi's back is very warm.

He smells like lilac and hay. Not that Suga is trying to smell him, or anything, but – well.

It’s a very tight space.

Kageyama jerks the bag of medicinal supplies up to eye level and shoves it at Suga. Suga takes it.

“Watch and learn, Kageyama,” Suga says.

Kageyama nods solemnly and shifts to give Suga access to Guinevere’s injury. He looms over Suga's shoulder the entire time Suga works on the injury, keeping Guinevere’s leg lifted so that Suga doesn’t have to worry about it. Kageyama really is a very good apprentice most of the time; he just needs guidance.

It doesn’t take long for Suga to treat the snake bite. The injury isn’t poisoned and the infection is very mild. She was probably spooked more than anything when her bedding touched it, as Kageyama said. Suga cleans, treats, and bandages the injury all in a matter of minutes. He narratives everything that he does for both Kageyama's and Daichi's benefit. Kageyama is extremely attentive. Daichi is attentive, too, but his attention is not solely focused on Guinevere. Suga catches Daichi’s attention straying from Guinevere’s injured leg to Suga's arms more than once. It’s tempting to show off a little, but Suga doesn’t give in to the impulse. He is a professional, after all.

When he’s done and Guinevere has lowered her foot back to the floor with no problems, Suga immediately moves out of the stall. He does not like unicorns. Highly strung and highly dangerous is not his favorite combination.

“Kageyama, come out of there,” Suga says.

Kageyama steps away from Guinevere, running his hands along her coat again. He pauses in front of her face and rubs her nose. Guinevere makes a rumbling sound. It makes Suga think of something between thunder and a purr.

“Guinevere seems to really like Kageyama,” Daichi says. He moves around Kageyama to join Suga at the stall door, leaving Kageyama in the stall with Guinevere by himself. Guinevere doesn’t freak out; she nuzzles Kageyama's hand. Kageyama smiles. “You know,” Daichi says, “he can stay with her for a while, if you don’t mind – Guinevere doesn’t take to very many people, so it’s nice for her to get some attention.”

“I don’t mind,” Suga says. He has nowhere to be today; he never schedules anything else for days when Daichi asks for a house call. Just in case. “But I don’t want to keep you tied up babysitting us if you have things to do,” he adds. He doesn’t want to be rude, after all.

“Actually,” Daichi says. He rubs at the back of his head, glancing away and then looking back at Suga. “I thought we could just leave Kageyama to it and – ah – have a cup of coffee?” Daichi coughs. “I mean, I have some made up at the house so, if you’d like some, I – I have some made. If you like.”

“Oh,” Suga says. “Well, if it’s already made.” He smiles at Daichi. He might flutter his eyelashes at him a bit, but in a totally professional, I’m-just-a-witch-hired-to-treat-your-unicorn way. … Mostly.

“Great,” Daichi says brightly. “Are you okay here, Kageyama?” he asks, still looking at Suga.

“Yes,” Kageyama says.

Suga glances at him. Kageyama is wholly engrossed in Guinevere. Of course Kageyama gets along with the murder horse. Unicorns are notorious for hating everyone – it takes years to establish a bond with one – but here Kageyama is making friends with one right off the bat. He really is the most ridiculous apprentice Suga has ever had.

Suga looks back at Daichi and gestures towards the barn doors. “Shall we?” he asks.

Daichi nods eagerly. “I have some biscuits, too,” he says, walking towards the doors. “If you’d like.”

“Sounds lovely,” Suga says. He doesn’t trail behind Daichi this time. Walking beside him provides a lovely view of his profile – especially as the sunlight hits him when they emerge outside again.

“Or I have some chocolate chip cookies,” Daichi says. He turns his head to look at Suga as they walk. “If you’re in the mood for something sweeter.” His gaze drops, just for a second, to Suga's lips as he says it before he looks forward again. Suga's eyebrows shoot up.

Oh, Suga’s in the mood.

“I can do sweet,” Suga says, very calmly.

“Yeah?” Daichi says. His eyes flicker to Suga's lips again.

Suga keeps his eyes on Daichi's face as Daichi looks up to meet his eyes again, so that Daichi will see that Suga saw him looking at Suga's mouth. Daichi's mouth opens just a bit, as if to excuse himself, but Suga cuts him off with a smile. Daichi's ears go pink again. Then, he smiles back.

It’s blinding.


End file.
